


The Festival of Light

by marenstella



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Character Death, Children, Festivals, Gen, Next Generation, Original Character(s), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 04:46:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13896573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marenstella/pseuds/marenstella
Summary: The three children of one of the heroes that brought back the light lead very different lives. However, on the Festival of Light, they're met with a surprise that makes them look back at the event that changed everything.Prompto Argentum: her dad, his hero, a stranger.





	The Festival of Light

**Author's Note:**

> This story deals with next generation: the children and wives of characters belong to me. The other characters all belong to the game Final Fantasy XV from Square Enix! I hope you enjoy the story! You should also be warned this story deals with a normal topic to the FFXV franchise: death.

The sun had been shining for twenty seven years now. The Kingdoms had been restored back to their previous state – new royals had been sought and they were found in distant branches of the Caelum and the Nox Fleuret bloodline. Lucis was now finally back to being a prosperous kingdom, full of life and success. If you were to visit it once, when King Regis still lived, and only now come back to it, only slight differences could be seen. Indeed, the King and Queen had done a great job picking the pieces of the broken nation and carefully putting them back together, well enough to hardly see the damage taken in the ten years of darkness.  
But today the streets of the capital were more restless than any normal day in the great kingdom, even though it was a week day, children were not in school and many people weren’t working – at least not on their normal jobs. Those with shops seemed to be preparing, those with no work helped put up decorations, stages and small booths here and there. That night, the Festival of Light would take place.

It was a beautiful event that lasted a day and a half. During the night, beautiful lights of all colors, types and sizes would be placed around the city as bands would play music, booths sold all kinds of things like trinkets, clothes, pins, sweet or/and salty snacks, toys, various stages showed demonstrations of dancing, sword fighting, plays, Insomnia was alive and the people were happy. All in celebration of a miracle – the light coming back to their world – and in honor of four heroes – Noctis Lucis Caelum, the man that had given his life for the happiness of his subjects, and Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum, the bodyguards and best friends – brothers in spirit – of the prince.

In those years after the light came back, lots had happened.

After Noctis’ death, Gladiolus had found comfort in a place he hadn’t expected: an old friend of his. On the immediate days after the light came back, he saw her: Diana Venari. She was the oldest of three children, the only daughter of a loyal military family of most excellence. Quite a strong woman, both mentally and physically, and just as stubborn as he was, Diana was also a big sweetheart. She was really quite short in height. The height difference made them an odd, yet lovely, sight for the eyes. He married quickly, two years later.

Ignis was one of the people in charge of organizing lots of aspects: the returning people to their old or new homes, the food rations, the needed constructions, the medical aid, etc. Of course he didn’t do it alone but he did play a big part in all of them since he was sort of the overseer. It was there he met Phoebe Indicina, who he’d end up marrying four years later. She was a highly intelligent young lady with a heart of gold, just the type everyone expected out of Ignis. It wasn’t out place to walk into their house and see them working side by side, not talking but content with each other’s company.

Prompto had tried one last time with Cindy, driving to Hammerhead as soon as he could, to ask her if now she would consider dating him. As expected, the head mechanic denied as kindly as she could before patting Prompto’s head. As Talcott had said, she was married to her work. He went back to Insomnia, promising to Cindy he visit her whenever he could. Just a week later he met Galatea Velamen, the head nurse of the medical aid facet Ignis was managing. Upbeat, confident and down to earth, she seemed to be carefully made just for Prompto, supporting him in his times of need and keeping him focused whenever his mind wandered off. They married one year later, two absolute dorks in love.

Gladiolus was now a father of seven, keeping the Amicitia tradition of big families. Ignis was father of one only. Prompto, not being able to have children of his own, adopted three.

-

Hammerhead. Four best friends posing for the camera in front of a black, stylish car. Long, dark hair, tattoo on shoulders and back, one hand on the car, another on his waist. Gladiolus Amicitia. Dirty blonde, spiky hair, arms crossed. Ignis Scientia. Sitting on the ground, leaning against the car, black hair, striking blue eyes. Noctis Lucis Caelum. Blonde, spiky hair, light blue eyes, freckles, goofy pose.

“Noctiiiiiis~”

Noctis snapped out of it and looked to his right to see a pair of golden eyes dangerously close. He tensed up and jumped back, his back hitting the car door. 

Silence.

“…A**hole.”

And with that, Indigo burst out laughing.

“You said yesterday that would be the last time you’d scare him.” Apollo said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Well, that was yesterday, I changed my mind~ I mean, can you blame me? Noct was so focused on the pic, he almost looked scary!”

“When doesn’t he look scary?” Indigo’s twin brother, younger by one hour, asked, furrowing his eyebrows and looking around as if he was making small calculations in his head. The silence that followed and the faces of his friends trying to recall a moment only made the hazel eyed man’s scowl worsen.

“You’re the f*cking worst.”

“I got it.” Apollo said, making the other three look at him. The green eyed man looked towards the rear-view mirror to look at the target for a second. “He doesn’t look scary around Zinnia.” He looked back to the road.

“I will hop out of this car and I will murder you.” Noctis glared, crossing his arms and trying to sound as menacing as he could, something rather easy because, even though he wouldn’t dare to hurt anyone, he looked and sounded rather scary.

“Oh yeeeaaaah, he has the hots for our sister.” Indigo stated, suddenly remembering the times Zinnia and his friend were in the same room. Sage just cringed.

“I don’t get what you see in her, Noct- She’s a terrifying, angry monster that- Wait, forget it, you’re perfect for each other.”

“Did you guys take the day to mess with me?” Noctis shouted as the laughter of the Amicitia twins filled the air.

“We’re here.” Apollo said, making the three boys shut up and look ahead. Hammerhead could be seen in the near distance.

“Feels like it’s been a while since we’ve been here.” Sage confessed, quieter than usual. He crossed his arms, as if only now realizing how long it had really been.

“A whole year has gone by. Mostly.”

“That’s what happens when you decide to go treasure hunting and do ‘hero work’ around the Kingdom.” Indigo shrugged his shoulders and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. “It’s not like we didn’t keep in contact – we exchanged letters all the time.”

“True.” Sage smiled and shrugged as well. Noctis just stayed quiet.

And so they entered the gas station and, as expected, none other than Cindy, now sixty three years old, was waiting. She was smiling, either at the sight of her ‘old girl’, of the boys she watched grow into the men or even at the nostalgic sight of four best friends returning from a trip in the Regalia.

In all seriousness, though not exact mirrors of the past, there were lots of similarities. The older one was Apollo, twenty four, with the green eyes of his father and the dark brown hair of his mother. One thing he couldn’t get rid off though was the poor eye sight, since both his parents needed glasses ‘curse you, genes’, he would yell. After him came Indigo, followed by Sage, both twenty three. Both had long, dirty blonde hair but Sage actually tied it in a ponytail. Then, Indigo had the golden eyes of his mother while Sage had the hazel eyes of his father. Both were really large in build, though shorter than Gladiolus. Last but not least, Noctis had black hair, styling it very much like his father Prompto (though it was spikier than expected) and hazel eyes. He also had a small goatee and a small scar on his right cheek. Though differences were there, in appearance and personality, Cindy could see the same connection in them that their parents had.

“Howdy, y’all~?” The woman said, waving after they stopped the car. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, Cindy!” The Amicitia twins said at the first time, sitting up on the car.

“Hello, miss Cindy.” Apollo greeted, turning a little to face the woman.

“Hi.” The youngest replied shortly, but anyone that knew him well could see he was happy thanks to the little smile that had formed.

“I must say, this was quite the surprise! Wasn’t the plan to meet in Insomnia?” The green eyed woman crossed her arms, genuinely curious over the change of plans. “What made y’all change your mind?”

“Mostly because the car’s running out of gas. But we knew Noct wanted to see how his family was doing.” The dark brown haired man confessed, pushing his glasses closer to his eyes and nose.

“Aaaw, our little man was feelin’ homesick. I’d say that’s cute but then I’d risk losin’ that rare smile he has right now ’n’ I don’t exactly want to.” She turned to the other boys. “So, you need a fill, right? I’m on it.”

“Cindy!” They heard a familiar voice shout. The woman turned around to face a chubby woman with really long and curly dark brown hair. “Dawn is missing!” She stated, running over, clearly panicked.

“Huh? Are you sure she’s not just hidin’, Gala?” The short haired woman asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she did her job.

“N-No! I turned the house upside down, she’s not anywhere! Oh Six, oh Six, where did my little-”

“Mom.”

Galatea suddenly looked to the person that called her and it took a second to snap out of her panicked state and realize it was her middle child. “Oh…Noctis…” She smiled a little. “Hey, little one.” The fifty six year old reached over and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, stroking it a little. Noctis tilted his head a little and she placed a kiss on his temple. She then focused on the other boys and smiled a little more. Noctis looked to the side. “Hello, boys.” They all replied with a nod and a smile of their own.

“Calm down, all right?” He rolled his eyes, looking back at his mother. “As much as I think the brat is immature, she knows this desert like the palm of her hand.” The twenty year old confessed as an attempt to calm her down. It didn’t really work.

“B-But what if she’s kidnapped?”

“Then they’ll send her right back. You really think someone wants to keep her?”

“Noctis!”

“I’m kidding.” He rolled his eyes again. “But really, don’t worry. I’d be more worried about the fact she won’t be back around the time you plan to leave.”

“O-Oh but I can’t help but worry…I-I’m going to look around! We’ll see each other later, all right, Noctis? S-See you later, boys!” Before she even finished her sentence, she was already running.

“I’ll go help ya in a second, Gala!” The olive green eyed woman stated, loud enough for the running one to hear. She then looked back at the group, but most especially Noctis. “You know why she’s like that, Noct.” She sighed, finishing filling the fuel gauge.

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t need to remind me.” He adjusted the black bandana on his upper arm. “Anyway, is it done?”

She closed the cover and then patted the ‘old girl’. “Yup. See ya soon?”

“Of course.” The hazel eyed man replied, nodding his head and looking forward.

The rest of the guys waved before going back to driving to their destination, a little faster than before though. After all, Apollo had someone he wanted to see, too.

-

Flash!

The chocobo blinked a few times and shook her head, not exactly bothered by the sudden flash of bright light but clearly still not used to it. The big pet looked toward her owner when she heard the orange haired young girl let out a little satisfied ‘hm~’, clearly amused by the photo she took of her majestic animal companion. The girl, a teenager of fourteen, had her messy orange hair tied in two braids that went down to her chest and her bangs parted to the right. Her cheeks, neck, arms, legs, all covered in freckles and a bandage covering the bridge of her petite nose. On her stood out her black vest, with tons of patches.

“Come look, Dusk.” And so she did, as if understanding the request. The big chocobo, bigger than people would think adequate for the tiny rider, walked over to the freckled teenager and stood next to her, looking at the camera screen that showed the photo of the animal looking magnificent, standing over a big rock cliff that showed a beautiful view of the Leide landscape, black feathers gleaming under the hot sun. “I think I’ll print this one to glue to my wall.” In response, Dusk just let out a ‘kweh’ sound, usual for chocobos.

Then she noticed the time. And her blood ran cold.

“Oh shoot! They’re gonna kill me-” The teen said, packing her bag and then jumping onto Dusk’s back. “C’mon, Dusk!” She didn’t need to say anything else; her black chocobo was already running and, in a matter of seconds, she was back in stable ground, near the road.

Just as she started getting near Hammerhead, the big brown eyed girl hopped out of Dusk and turned to the chocobo as she quietly walked into the property.

“We’ve got to be really, really quiet or-”

“Dawn Velamen Argentum!” A loud voice said from the other side of the gas station, not sounding angry but not sounding particularly happy either.

“-Six darn it.” Dawn whispered before she turned around to face the sixty three year old woman. “Heeeeey, aunt Cindy~” She snapped her fingers and pointed before leaning back a little. “How are ya, it’s great to see ya but I gotta get going, got stuff to-”

“Your mama and I flipped Hammerhead upside down lookin’ for ya.” The older woman said, as sternly as she could. The brown eyed flinched and looked away, pouting. “Where were ya?”

“Around.” She snapped, looking back at the once completely golden haired woman.

“Around?” The woman leaned down a little and raised an eyebrow. “And why couldn’t ya tell us you were goin’ ‘around’?”

“…Look, I was just snappin’ a few shots.” Dawn held up her camera. Cindy could recognize that thing anywhere. “But if I said I was leavin’ alone, mama would flip! I can’t go anywhere without her worryin’!” She turned and started to tie her chocobo’s reins to a pole. “Either way I had to sneak out so why even say? You know I wouldn’t get myself into trouble, auntie, I don’t see the big deal-”

“You could’ve at least told me.” Cindy sighed, bringing a hand up to rub her forehead. The teenager didn’t say anything after that, keeping her eyes on Dusk and giving it a pet on the head. After a minute in silence, the woman decided to talk again. “…Just, don’t do it again, alright?”

The brown eyed girl just nodded, agreeing, but the woman could clearly see she didn’t fully mean it. Dawn was very hard to deal with sometimes, never making the effort to understand how her actions affected others.

“…Anyhow, you should go get ready. We’re leavin’ in two hours, sweetie.” The olive green eyed female ruffled her ‘niece’s’ hair, giving her a small smile to show she wasn’t mad. The fourteen year old girl looked up and smiled only a little before walking inside, looking at the camera screen. “And don’t worry; I’ll make up somethin’ too for your mama.” Dawn stopped before turning around and looking back at Cindy.

“…Thanks, auntie.” And without saying another word, the girl jogged upstairs, leaving the sixty three year old alone.

Cindy sighed and rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in a sign of defeat. “You must’ve handpicked this rascal to make sure she’d give me a hell’s half acre to run, Prompto…” She turned.

Dawn walked upstairs and into her small mess of a room. Cindy insisted her room would be bigger if she tidied it but she admitted she liked it better like this, with everything out of place but somehow in it’s perfect place for her to find.

There was a small table underneath her window, where she kept her drawings: some were replicas of photos she loved but had some flaws so she fixed them by drawing them (sometimes even cutting the parts off of the drawing and putting them over the real photos – not gluing them, but keeping them in place with clips or other materials that wouldn’t damage the picture), others were drawings of things she would love to take picture of but hadn’t gotten the chance to visit yet, like the waterfalls of Altissia or the palace of Tenebrae, then she also liked to sketch some things she saw in her dreams. When she left the room in the morning, there were several unfinished drawings scattered across the table. When she came back, those same drawings were in a pile next to a small, yellow with suitcase and a note was placed on top of it.

We’ll leave soon, you should probably pack everything you want to take, sweetheart.

It was tradition. Every year, on the Festival of Light, the family went to visit the capital, staying for a week following the day of the event. Not that the family didn’t go there in other days, they did! They visited Insomnia a lot since Luna and Noctis had their own houses there: Luna sharing an apartment with Apollo and Noctis, Sage and Indigo sharing the apartment right underneath them. Mostly so the twins could try to embarrass their friend, just to end up being beaten up by the woman.

In just ten minutes, she packed her clothes, putting seven shirts, two pairs of trousers and two pairs of shorts. She crossed her arms, looking at the suitcase, wondering if she should put anything else in it. Then she looked around at her walls.

The walls in her bedroom were completely covered in photos, photos she cherished with all her heart. So she started putting them on folders, to take them on the trip. She knew they wouldn’t stay for long in Insomnia but those were her most prized belongings and she wouldn’t leave them behind if she had the option. There were pictures of her siblings and friends, lots of her beautiful mother Galatea, others of Cindy, then some of her and a few of Dusk. She had a few favorite pictures:

> A picture of Dawn sitting on the desert with Dusk sitting behind her, beak open, caught in the middle of an adorable ‘kWEH’  
>  A picture of Gladiolus and Diana making a funny face for the camera  
>  A picture she caught of a kiss between Apollo and Luna (only because she caught Sage in the background, cringing and looking as if he wanted to puke)  
>  A picture of Galatea, smiling softly as she stood near a lake, with her feet on the water, looking as beautiful and as gracious as ever, though the signs of aging were clear, with forming wrinkles and hairs starting to grey  
>  A picture with Cindy sitting on the hood of the Regalia, legs crossed and a small smirk; it had been her first picture ever after Galatea gave her the camera  
>  A picture of Sage, Indigo, Apollo and Noctis in a group picture in front of the Citadel, with Sage and Indigo making heroic poses while Noctis looked annoyed and Apollo stood behind them with his arms crossed and a little smirk, amused  
> 

She was really proud of everything she took, but those six pictures were the ones she especially felt proud of. However, in the middle of the wall directly in front of the one her hammock bed was near of, were five pictures she did not take…

A man, clearly overjoyed, lying on the ground with his head on the lap of a woman. A group of friends on a lookout point, two young men standing up, and two young men crouching down, behind them there was a beautiful view. A man, holding a very small baby and two children, one on each side of him, all smiling at the camera, the young adult looked like the happiest man alive. Two men, best friends, one on each side of a baby black chocobo. In the middle, there was a selfie of a very handsome man, the very same one as the other pictures, having an arm wrapped around a yellow chocobo’s neck.

When her eyes landed on the five pictures, she stopped, and stared. Lots of thoughts ran through her mind, feelings that no one even imagined she had, problems she kept to herself. In the end, she took all the photos except the five in the middle. She closed the suitcase after carefully storing the folders inside and picked it up, looking around one last time. Her eyes stopped at the sight of his blue eyes again. Then, she looked away, adjusted her vest and left the room, turning off the lights. Darkness.

-

_Effacé devant_   
_Right, left, right_   
_Pirouette, pirouette, pirouette_   
_Forward, back, pirouette, walk back_   
_Step in place, wave arms_   
_Bend a little, one foot back, wave arms, one, two, three, four_   
_Start running, slow, wave your arms, like wings_   
_Jump_   
_Go back to running, slow, that’s it_   
_Stop in the middle_   
_Promenade en Arabesque_   
_Arabesque Penché!_   
_Now, Saut de Chat!_   
_Foutté Turns!_   
_One! Two! Three! Four!_   
_Five! Six! Seven! Eight!_   
_Nine! Te-_   


The stunning young woman fell on the ground, breathing heavily. She slowly brought her hands up to her head and tightly closed her hand around her long, white hairs, pulling on them slightly as she tried to calm her heavy breathing.

“D*mmit… D*mmit…!” Luna muttered, opening her eyes and reaching up to grab the railing attached to the mirrors of her dance studio. “Why can I never finish this f*cking thing…” She pulled herself up.

“You know why you can’t.”

Luna turned around, eyes wide open in shock, and her violet irises met a familiar shade of green. “…You’re back early.”

“I missed you.” Apollo walked over to the woman, one year older than him and placed his hands on her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck; a perfect fit. She locked lips with him for a few seconds before pulling away and resting her clear forehead on his chest, her white hair, features and clothing contrasting perfectly against his black clothes and dark hair.

“I missed you too.” She whispered, but loud enough for him to hear.

“Why were you trying to dance that one song with no one else around?” He pulled away and gripped her shoulders, gently. “You know you can’t finish it, you know you have panic attacks, why take the risk?”

“You didn’t seem too worried when you decided to leave.” Luna responded, looking away and giving a little pout. She was sad, as any girlfriend would, when Apollo decided to leave but she would never hold him back from doing what he wanted. Especially when it meant (kind of-sort of) following on his father’s footsteps. Besides, he had also promised to speak to her every day through the phone, on top of sending her thousands of letters – all of which she saved preciously on a small box she decorated herself, the same box that safely kept some photographs. “And besides, you knew I would only practice more if you were away.”

Apollo sighed. “I was hoping you’d figure out it wouldn’t be a nice idea. But then again, it was only hope. I knew you wouldn’t stop.” Luna looked away and shrugged her shoulders. “…But I am not saying for you to stop.” And just like that, she tensed up. She had not expected him to say that and her eyes widened a little. “You’re stubborn. Very much so but I believe what you’re trying to do is beautiful.” The dark brown haired man gently took a lock of her hair and held it up to his lips. “It shows you’re strong too. And that’s something I admire.”

“…I love you.” She told him, taking a step back and turning around, her back towards him. The albino girl was clearly trying to hide the blush on her cheeks the best she could. The man smiled a little, fondly.

“I know. And I love you too.” The man walked over and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, placing a kiss on her neck after she tilted her head to give him easy access.

They stood in silence for a while, looking out the big glass window of their luxurious apartment that gave them full view of Insomnia. They both weren’t alive to see the attack on the capital or the ten years of darkness and they were too young to remember the exact state of the first years of recovery. However, they did remember the state of the capital and the kingdom from when they were young and the state of the capital and the kingdom at that moment. On the streets down below, people were busy, big smiles on their faces despite the work.

“One more year, one more festival.”

“Indeed.” He agreed, resting his chin on her shoulder. “What are you doing this year? You said you would only tell me once I was back.”

“I’m opening the festival on the main stage.” She revealed, smirking a little. Opening a festival was a big deal for any artist, an honor many aimed to have. It didn’t mean that they were particularly famous since the surviving heroes were the ones that handpicked the performers, but it meant some of the most important people in the Kingdom – and the world – considered the artist talented enough to open the most important festival. Those who were already famous and loved, like Luna, simply got bragging rights but it wasn’t uncommon for the heroes to pick those that did not have a lot of fame.

“Really?” Apollo asked, a little bit surprised. This earned him a glare from his lover.

“What? You didn’t think I would make it?”

“No, I thought they’d save you for some kind of anniversary.”

“They did.” Short. Dismissive. Rude. That was weird for Luna… Not exactly the rude part, she was rather cold to some people, but the fact it was such a short answer, given in such a ‘let’s end this conversation’ tone.

“What?” The man asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

She stayed in silence. She messed with her black glove.

“Luna?”

“…It is an anniversary. Dawn’s fifteen tomorrow.” And realization hit him.

“That makes fifteen years since…” There was an uncomfortable silence after that. The twenty four year old was a little in panic, knowing he had touched a sensitive subject without even noticing. Though intelligent, he certainly did tend to overlook small, yet big, details, details Ignis wouldn’t have failed to notice. Of course it was a perfect date for Luna to perform. They wouldn’t throw her in for any random date. “Love, I’m-”

“It’s ok.” She replied, shortly again, and looked down at her feet. She did not pull away from him.

‘She didn’t pull away.’ He thought. ‘That means it really is ok. I should probably say something though.’

“Still, I should’ve been more careful. It’s a sensitive subject.” He admitted, pulling away and turning her towards him.

“Life didn’t stop at that moment.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head closer, resting her forehead on his. “Not for me. It affected me back then. I’m over it now. That’s why I don’t get why I can’t finish the song.”

‘Because you lie to yourself. You’re not fine, you never talked about it, you never cried, you never let it out. You’re a ticking time bomb, that’s what you are. You say you’re fine, while keeping everything to yourself and wanting to do everything on your own. You insist it works for you, I know it doesn’t, because I know you. I always did. And I was there. I saw the shock, I saw the heartbreak, I saw the tears threatening to fall, I saw the words that didn’t leave your mouth. I saw you stumble, I saw you fall in my arms and lastly, I saw the numbness in your stare. The numbness that eventually disappeared to be replaced by bitterness towards life, the bitterness that will have you explode one day.’

“I believe one day you will.”

‘You will not. Not until you accept it. Not until you cry. I know this. You know this. That’s why you trust me.’

“Yeah. For sure.” She kissed him.

‘Lies. But I’ll lie for you until you’re ready.’

-

Apollo looked down at his watch. 5:50 am, almost time for the annual speech. He was sitting on one of the tables placed on the roads in front of the Citadel, especially put there for the occasion since the large space in between the door of the residence and the beginning of the stairs was turned into a stage for the main performances. It was there that is girlfriend had done a beautiful performance of a music named ‘Waltzing Amid Moonbeams’ in the most gorgeous ballet attire he had ever seen, no doubt made by Zinnia since she was pretty gifted in the art of fashion. She had looked like a princess, with her dress in shades of white and faded light blue, full of ribbons and silver details – mostly swirls – and, of course, a gorgeous and heavily detailed, moon-themed headpiece resting on top of her head.

Looking up he saw that same girl, sitting in front of him while sipping a strawberry banana smoothie, no longer wearing her ballet dress but a sleeveless white top that showed a bit of her stomach and a dark blue skirt with a few silver elements. She looked up to stare at him and they joined hands on top of the table. On her side were sitting Galatea and Cindy while on his side were sitting Noctis and Dawn.

The table next to theirs was where the Amicitia siblings were seating. On one of the sides was Poppy, the oldest out of the siblings and a prodigy in the arts of battle – she was only twenty five and was already an efficient leader of a small facet of the army but there were rumors in the kingdom that she would soon become the Shield of the King, like her father and grandfather were before her. Indigo and Sage were sitting next to her, still catching up with the siblings sitting across from them. Those were, in order of birth, Rose (the one gifted with the voice of an angel), Zinnia (the fashion designer and the only thing Noctis was focused on at that moment), Sorrel (the future writer, who swore to everyone one day he would make a biography of the lives of his father and his friends!) and lastly, Cypress (who, though only 14 years of age, had already claimed he wanted to enlist in the Crownsguard one day).

His mother Phoebe and Miss Diana Amicitia were in the center of the plaza, on the circle where the roads met, looking at the statue of Noctis that had been made on the 10th anniversary of his death. With them was a woman he recognized as an old, very close friend of the Scientia, Amicitia and Argentum families. He didn’t know much about her, if her name had ever been mentioned to him, he didn’t recall… Information was scarce. Extremely quiet, thought to be mute by those that didn’t know her closely; she had been a classmate of Prompto and Noctis. Prompto had said he himself of all people, had been the one introducing the shy girl to his best friend.

Ignis spoke of her fondly, saying she was truly a kind soul. She had his undying respect – he had been the first one to notice her affections towards the prince. Apparently, when confronted by Ignis, she told him she would never say her feelings out loud, knowing Noctis’ heart belonged to the princess of Tenebrae. The mysterious woman talked to him, as any good friend would, even asking how princess Lunafreya was doing from time to time. Her voice had never trembled, her smile had always been true. She was happy… though heartbroken. The other two friends eventually learnt the truth: Gladiolus couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl while Prompto was always there for her after finding out. Noctis never suspected a thing.

She disappeared during the ten years of darkness. They thought she had been killed, until three days after the light came back, when they found her, looking at the coffin of the True King (that was staying at the throne room until the place of his burial would be decided), on her knees, crying in silence. She had been travelling around Lucis during those ten years, offering a home to children who got lost, who got abandoned, or even those whose parents had been killed by daemons. From overheard conversations, he knew she owned an orphanage nowadays but the location was unknown to him.

Anything outside her unrequited love and her quiet and kind nature was unknown to him and the rest of the children, though Luna did find in the middle of thousands of photos, a very curious one. Freckles covered the woman’s skin, she who had messy, short, bright red hair and a pair of light brown eyes. She was smiling and holding onto her straw hat, that was adorned with all types of flowers while her long white dress flowed to the wind. All of those contrasted the spiky black hair and the blue eyes of the man, who was also smiling, dressed in all back with his arms crossed. Behind the picture, Prompto had jokingly written ‘Day and Night!’.

Noctis looked away from Zinnia after about five minutes; their table was quiet and anyone could feel the heavy atmosphere. Cindy frowned, though she had tried her hardest, around two AM, everyone had grown silent, like ever year… even she, though she swore she would force herself to speak if it was needed, had failed. She could only look up to check how the poor orange haired girl was handling the deafening silence. The older woman was sure she had looked through her photos at least five times already. It was Dawn’s birthday… and all the smiles she had gotten from her family were less than two handfuls, most of them accompanied by teary eyes.

People were starting to gather around the streets, the sun had just started to rise. The sound of loud clapping of the hundreds of people tore through the deafening silence as the heroes stepped forward to the stage. Everyone in the tables faced towards the Citadel, suddenly grinning. Dawn kept her eyes on the camera. The men stopped in front of a small podium that had a microphone and, behind them, stood something big that no one knew what it was, covered in a white sheet.

“Thank you, everyone.” Ignis started, making the people cheer even louder. The heroes bowed slightly forward, waiting for the crowd to calm down. Eventually, it did and then, the blind man continued. “We stand here today, once again, to celebrate the return of the light to our world and to honor the True King, Noctis Lucis Caelum, and his sacrifice. But not only that, we are also here to celebrate our strength! Every year, this Festival takes place to make sure no one forgets that we stood strong against a tremendous tragedy. Ten years before the light returned, when the world was about to fall into darkness and despair, we lost not only King Regis but princess Lunafreya, our Oracle. Soon after, though we didn’t lose him then, prince Noctis entered a slumber of ten years, the years we now remember as the disastrous Dark Decade. Though our prince returned, he died soon to restore the light and save us all from the monsters we fought non-stop for so many years. These people’s sacrifices were great and indispensable but they didn’t mean the end of our effort: the Kingdom was in shambles, and chaos reigned. We have come a long way in these twenty seven years, and the Kingdom now stands even better than before. We live in peace and prosperity and nothing will change that. We stood strong and we now get to live with our reward! Though you may see us as heroes, remember, all of this wouldn’t have been possible without you. This is our kingdom and Lucis is strong because of you all and, we, knowing prince Noctis, are sure that he wouldn’t be less than thrilled at this marvelous kingdom we have raised in his absence!” Cheers. Ignis raised a hand and then stepped back. Gladiolus took the center stage.

“It really has been twenty seven years and these things we honor every year are not to be taken lightly. However, there is something we should pay attention on this very special day. We know you wouldn’t forget but both Ignis and I feel the need to mention it. Fifteen years ago, tragedy struck once again, out of nowhere. No one saw it coming and the Kingdom was confused and devastated and there was nothing we could do. It is with pride and joy that we now announce a new addition to the statue of our True King.” Gladio looked back and mentioned for the knights to move the sheet. And they did.

The crowd grew silent for a few seconds before the cheering and the clapping roared with a volume only matched with the time Noctis’ statue was announced, even the people that were still sitting on their chairs, stood up and clapped along. The crowd was wild and Gladiolus couldn’t keep a tear from slipping out of his eye as he stared at the statue in front of him. Ignis clapped too and though he didn’t cry, anyone could see he was moved by the happiness of the crowd at the announcement. Cindy hugged Galatea tight, since she had broken down crying, longing and overwhelming pride clear on her features. She was clapping with the brightest smile the older woman had seen ever since that fateful day. As she rubbed her friend’s back, Cindy was also crying and smiling, staring at the familiar features of the statue.

Luna, Noctis and Dawn stared. Each of them had different thoughts going through their head, faced with the perfect granite replica of their father.

Luna kept her tears for herself. She would not cry, she swore she would never, though the tightness in her throat indicated she could break down at any second, her vision becoming blurry. Standing up in the blink of an eye and taking a deep, shaky breath.

She started remembering, remembering the day her world fell under her feet and she was greeted with the unfairness of life. Her gracious dance, the way Prompto seemed to shine with pride towards her as she took the center role of the dance and the other children danced around her, the sounds of his loud whispers ‘Luna! Look at dad!’,’Luna!’ ‘Luna!’ ‘Luna!’, the way the flashes illuminated the room, the music getting louder, her mind fusing with the music, the emotion of a perfect performance, the expectation of hugs and words of praise after everything was done and out of nowhere, the thud of his body hitting the ground. The horrifying screams of her one year old sister echoed through the streets, hurt since she had fallen to the ground and their father’s lifeless body had fallen over her; Galatea’s terrified and perplexed screams as she picked her baby up and checked for injuries on her, all while keeping an eye on her loved one and screaming his name ‘Prompto!’ ‘Prompto, get up!’ ‘What happened! Oh gods, what happened?’; the sheer and utter panic the people in the audience surrounding the body of the fallen hero and either calling for an ambulance or for any help, really, in hopes of still being possible to save him; the way her friends from ballet class all ran backstage, leaving her alone, frozen in shock, as if the fact she was unmoving would make everything that was happening come to a halt and rewind. She remembered feeling her legs weak as she heard ‘He’s not breathing’ and then falling over, a pair of arms catching her. She would later find out this had been Apollo. Emptiness took over her whole being.

‘…Dad.’

Noctis slowly stood up, his face clearly contorting into an agonizing expression. Unlike his sister, Luna, his tears fell. He held his breath, the fact the statue of Prompto was smiling piercing him through the heart and making it feel like it had just been ripped out of his chest.

He started remembering, remembering the day his world fell under his feet and he was greeted with the unfairness of life. When he was young, he had pleasure in causing trouble, not caring for the consequences. The indifference he felt towards the sadness and the suffering of others was remarkable. His childhood was always something he hated to speak about since he regretted everything that had happened during his younger years. Around four years old, he had already started to beat other children up and stealing their toys… he kept them until Prompto and Galatea came to try to take them away, to return them to their respectful owner, but they were never able because Noctis would break them to pieces, often throwing them out the window of their apartment, risking hurting someone badly that was simply walking by. ‘If I can’t have them, they can’t either!’ he would scream, and then scream some more as Prompto and Galatea tried to keep him from breaking things around the house as a way to get them to stop trying to change him. On that particular Festival of Light, he had torn the dress Luna was going to use for her performance only one hour before it. Galatea was the one that fixed it as quickly as she could at the same time as Prompto tried to call his son to reason. ‘No one is born evil’ he had said, crouching down to his height. As the blonde man tried to place a hand on his son’s cheek, the young boy glared and slapped it away. The blue eyed man stared at the young boy, hurt, with tears in his eyes but Noctis didn’t seem to care and ran away. The next time he saw his father, the man was lifeless. Noctis never forgave himself but he did swear to change his life around… and he did, following on his father’s footsteps.

‘…My hero.’

Dawn didn’t stand up, but she did look up. She looked around at her family, sadness forgotten. Though she could say Luna and Noctis had dug up some painful memories, she could see they were happy that their father had finally been given a chance to get immortalized as a hero, next to his best friend, who he cherished very much.

She didn’t remember. She had been there, yes, from what everyone says, sitting on his lap, happily playing with a chocobo plush that she had to this day. But she was so young she didn’t remember, she didn’t remember any screams, she didn’t remember any pain and she didn’t remember him.

That’s why she always knew the unfairness of life.

Prompto, her father, the father she never got to meet, the father she never got to look at, the father she never heard, the man that followed her like a shadow… or maybe not. She lost count of the times she was compared to him, the times SHE stayed in his shadow, the times people didn’t stop to think a little and realize she was her own person and she was not her father, even if they had the same love for photography or the same love for chocobos. People never stopped to think how she would feel all this time, suffocated on the importance of a man she never met and no matter what she did, all the praise she would ever get would be ‘Prompto would be proud’! She didn’t want Prompto to be proud, she wanted the family she knew and loved to be proud, the family that drowns her in memories and feelings she feels guilty for not having and that she wants to have but can’t! She wants to feel love, she wants to feel longing, but she can’t because she doesn’t remember anything of him and that destroys her inside. She wants to know him, she wants to fill the void he left in her, she wants to remember the sweet melodies her mother tells her he used to sing, she wants to remember the silly faces he would make to get her to stop crying during the night, she wants to remember how he hugged her, how he said her name, how he played with her but she can’t and she’s left wondering why the Six couldn’t keep him with her some more time so she would at least remember something, no matter how small it could be.

Maybe that way she could also understand why they loved him more than her. She denied it at first, there was no way, but as the years went by and her birthday was constantly overshadowed by his death, she accepted it. In a date where everyone was supposed to be happy she was born, they weren’t. Instead of smiling and making her feel like they were happy she was there, midnight would come around and everyone would go quiet. They would eventually say ‘happy birthday’ but was it really a happy birthday when everyone she loved was sad that Prompto was gone? Behind all the feelings similar to love she felt for her father she couldn’t help that there was a little part of her that truly, truly despised him for being so loved by everyone that her feelings would just end up being forgotten. She didn’t doubt her family loved her, but she had no doubt they loved Prompto more than her.

In the end, no one can change what happened. He adopted her, he cheered her up and he loved her once, but not anymore. Why? Because he couldn’t, he was dead, he had died 15 years ago, on her birthday. His heart stopped, he died immediately and his body fell on her. How was Prompto? She didn’t know. Did she love him? She didn’t know. Did she hate him? She didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that the first thought that came to her head as she stared into the empty eyes of the statue of her father was

‘...A stranger.’

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked the story! I had tons of fun writing it! ^_^ It's kind of old but since I just applied to this website, I thought I'd upload it here too since I'm not ashamed of this piece of writing, like I am of others!


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